Grandma’s Banana Pudding from scratch….there just aint’ nothin’ like this out there that tastes so good!  This is the most requested food dish that family members ask me to bring to holiday get-togethers and any other time I can.  My grandmother made some of the best treats ever and this ranks #1 on my list.  I’m republishing this due to it’s popularity so enjoy and check out her other recipes if you get a chance.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 heaping  Tbsp. Flour…and I mean heaping!
• 1/2 cup sugar or a little more;)
• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• butter
• vanilla
• Vanilla Wafers (save some to crumble for the top)
• Bananas

DIRECTIONS:

In a saucepan, mix flour & sugar then add eggs and mix well.  Start your burner and slowly add milk; a little at a time stirring constantly.  Continue stirring until it has thickened.  After thick, add butter and vanilla to taste.  I would say about 1 Tbsp of butter maybe.  I double this recipe to make a bunch so it’s hard for me to give you accurate measurements.  Not too much vanilla either or it will taste almost chocolatey.  Maybe a 1/4 tsp??  Again, not sure.  Just taste it.

You’ll want to layer your wafer cookies and bananas for a pretty presentation.  I don’t do this though..I throw in a bowl..LOL.  I refrigerate mine over night because I like it VERY cold but you should refrigerate it for a few hours.

Ingredients…..

Here’s all the good stuff cooking in the saucepan……

While you’re cooking the the stuff in the pot, you can slice your bananas and layer your wafers & bananas. Don’t forget to keep stirring your pudding though.

Once your pudding is done, add the butter and vanilla.  Remember, I double my recipe so that’s why there is more in my pudding!

Now that it’s done, you pour into your dish with your wafers and bananas.

This is where the extra wafers come in.  Crush them up and sprinkle on top.

Sprinkle and Viola!

Remember to refrigerate….once nice and cold, sit back and enjoy!!!

This is what happens when ALL my emails are bouncing back to people and I haven’t received not one email for over two days. I eat. ugh. Yes, it’s midnight but that’s what stress does to you.

Pies happen to be one of my most favorite desserts but so many pies call for long cooking times in the oven.  With the Summer heat upon us, I try to find recipes with little oven cooking time and that often need refrigeration to keep everyone cool.  I have a few favorites and this is one of them.  I actually only enjoy a few chocolate type desserts and that’s my grandmother’s chocolate sheet cake and this chocolate banana pie.

It’s very easy to make and if you have 15 minutes to bake and cool a pie shell, then it’s a great dessert lifesaver for when company decides they want to come over last minute.  I bought the pie shell and usually do keep a few on hand for times like that but if you prefer to make it, I have a perfect pie crust recipe which would make this pie even more delicious.

Since I’m unable to visit a tropical destination, I figure creating tropical desserts will have to do and what’s more tropical than Pina Colada!  Because I’m always trying to incorporate fruit into our every day eating habits, I thought adding the traditional Pina Colada ingredients along with the tasty banana.

This recipe is great on a hot Summer day or even a cold day after eating a hot meal.  It makes for a pretty presentation too because when you slice it up to serve, you’ve got 3 layers-the creamy mixture, bananas, and cream mixture all topped with coconut!

Enjoy and let me know how you like it!

Because I’m trying to lose weight, I’m really watching what I eat.  Every morning I wake up and decide what to eat.  I usually go for oatmeal, a healthy cereal or have a smoothie. Today is smoothie day!  My two favorite fruits, strawberries & bananas, in a drink!  And to make sure I’m getting a good dose of calcium, I use whole milk. You can substitute 2% or fat free if you want it non-fat but I think it’s healthy to have a good glass of milk throughout the day.

I have a blender that I just LOVE. The  Chris Freytag Personal Fitness Blender is my absolute favorite and it’s cheaper at QVC than at Amazon.  If you’re not a member of QVC, it’s a 30 sec sign up folks.

The blender is basically a mug that you can use to drink your shake or smoothie and comes with a to-go lid.  You put your ingredients in it, screw the top on (with the blender blades) and flip over onto unit. When done, you flip back over and swap out lids with the to-go one. I LOVE IT!  And you can also get extra mugs if you want more for other family members.

INGREDIENTS

• * 1 cup frozen strawberry
• * 1 cup milk
• * 2 packets of Truvia (or your favorite sweetener or 1/4 cup sugar)
• * 1 banana
• * 8-10 ice cubes

DIRECTIONS

Put all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.  VIOLA!  Super easy and VERY good!

What is your favorite kind of smoothie?

Along with the holidays comes an abundance of sugary sweets and I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough.  I’m sure I gained a whopping 10lbs at the least after this Holiday’s feast and will be glad to get back to normal food.

One foodie family tradition I do welcome is the basket full of fruit courtesy of my parents.  They do this every year and it’s refreshing to have something healthy around to eat and a good distraction for my toddler’s craving of more sugar cookies!  They also bring an assortment of nuts so it’s  all good!  OH, and they always bring it in such a lovely basket for a beautiful presentation.  Of course, I didn’t get the basket in the picture but I assure you it’s lovely.

And Santa ALWAYS brings the kiddos fruit.  You know, he’s not only rewarding them for being good, he’s also trying to instill healthy eating habits too;)

Potential health benefits of eating fruit…

*potential for weight control
*more energy for exercising
*reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases
*reduced risk of developing cancers
*lower blood pressure
*potential to lower cholesterol
*reduced change of developing type 2 diabetes
*potential to slow down age process

Incorporate some fruit and reap the rewards of good health!

It can be quite easy to slip 5 pieces of fruit into the diet. Here are some tips..

1. Add dried fruit to breakfast cereal
2. Prepare fruit salads to last few days
3. Eat apple before leaving for work
4. Eat small piece 30 minutes before / after light workout
5. Drink more fruit juices
6. Find recipes that contain fruit
7. Always have a bowl of fruit in or near T.V

So for 2009, try buying a fruit basket as a family gift and encourage others to eat healthy!  What are your fruit eating habits and traditions?  Share in the comments and/or at A Spoonful of Flavor, the new foodie community.

Pound cake is great, but pound cake with a fruity topping is even greater!  With this recipe, I decided to use Strawberries, Blueberries, and Bananas.  With so much going on on the fruit side, I needed a balance to which I chose simple but tasty pound cake.  This is a super easy recipe to make and is great when you’re short on time.  While the baking of the pound cake is an hour at the least, everything is done within 15minutes.  So, you ready for the recipe?  Let’s git-r-done!

INGREDIENTS:

For the pound cake

• 1/2 pound butter (or 2 sticks), a little extra for the pan
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, a little extra for the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the fruit topping

• 1 cup of strawberries (sliced)
• 1 cup of bananas (sliced)
• 1 cup of blueberries
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
• 1/2 stick of butter
• whip cream (optional) I didn’t use it but it would be good!

DIRECTIONS:

First, preheat oven to 350′.  CAKE: Cream butter and shortening together.  Add sugar, a little at a time.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each one.  Stir dry ingredients together in a bowl and add to the previous mixture, alternating it with milk.  Mix in vanilla.  Pour into greased and floured loaf pans (2 of them) and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick comes out clean.

During the last 10 minutes of baking time, heat a nonstick skillet and add your butter, sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar, and fruit.  Saute for about 3-5 minutes.

Take out pound cake, cool, and slice.  Pour sauteed fruit mixture over pound cake and devour!

Serve with whip cream if you like.

I just love miniature stuff and Banana Nut Bread is no exception! I mean look at them, how cute are they!! This would make a great little treat to for the kiddos, put in a basket of goodies for a house warming gift, or to gobble up yourself!

INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ cup shortening
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup chopped nuts ( I saved a few to sprinkle on top before baking)
• 5 large bananas, mashed

DIRECTIONS:

Cream the first three ingredients together and add vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and pour into 2 well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Makes 2 loafs
(I used 6–5 ¾ x 3x 2 1/8 petite loaf pans)

Before:)

After:)  YUMMY TO THE TUMMY!